PVRC in the news
PVRC Youth Set Another World Record, Help Local Charity
Featured in MassLive (August 14, 2019)
Eight PVRC youth rowers under age 19 set a team record on August 13, 2019. They rowed 351,050 meters in 24 hours, setting the mixed small team U-19 record. Their effort also raised funds for the Springfield Rescue Mission. The overnight row was covered by MassLive and Sy Becker of WWLP. Thank you for your support of this world record row, for a great cause.
PVRC Youth Set World Record
Featured on page 2 of the Sunday Republican, January 27, 2019
SPRINGFIELD, MA. Question: What makes no sound when it breaks? Answer: a world record. At 7 a.m. on a frosty winter morning in the waning hours of 2018, two teenagers quietly broke a rowing world record at the Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club (PVRC). Cameron Dougal, age 16, of Indian Orchard and Grace Coogan, age 19, of Longmeadow teamed-up and kept the “fan spinning” continuously on an indoor rowing machine for 24 hours and 5 minutes for a total of 295,964 meters--a record for their category.
Springfield Dragon Rays take to Connecticut River for Dragon Boat Festival
Featured May 13, 2016 on Masslive and in The Republican
SPRINGFIELD - The Dragon Rays are back on the Connecticut River for another season. The Dragon Boat team, composed of breast cancer survivors and their supporters, who paddle out of the Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club, have begun practicing in preparation for another competitive year, starting with the club's annual Dragon Boat Festival and races on June 25.
WGBY Connecting Point interviews PVRC's new Dragon Boat Coach and Executive Director
April 20, 2016 on WGBY Connecting Point
Excitement for the Dragon Boat Festival builds, in this pre-season interview with Jim Madigan on WGBY's Connecting Point.
GoLocal Magazine PVRC Feature
Featured in GoLocal Magazine, May 2016. See Amelia Ingraham Photography
With vibrant photography by Amelia Ingraham and a delightful story by Annalisa Deal, this feature article is an insightful snapshot--both in words and pictures--into PVRC.
Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club Expands Its Offerings
Featured in BusinessWest, April 5, 2016
A comprehensive overview of PVRC offerings, Kathleen Mitchell of BusinessWest captures the spirit of PVRC in this report.
11th Annual Springfield Riverfront Regatta makes splash downtown
Featured on MassLive by Mark Murray on September 12, 2015
SPRINGFIELD - The Connecticut River in Springfield was a busy place Saturday as the hundreds of rowers took to the water in the 11th Annual Springfield Riverfront Regatta.
Dragon Boat Festival fires up Springfield waterfront
Featured on MassLive by Don Treeger on June 28, 2014
The 2nd Annual Springfield Dragon Boat Festival took over Riverfront Park with 22 teams from around New England including club teams and community teams. Boats raced two at a time in 200 meter timed heats. A team consists of 20 paddlers, a drummer and steerer who race in authentic Hong Kong-style, 46-foot-long dragon boats.
The Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club introduced the sport to Springfield in 2013, with the first local team coming together as a result of a grant from the Rays of Hope and the Centers for Disease Control. The PVRC group has grown over the past year and a team called the Springfield Dragon Rays has formed. They are comprised predominately of breast cancer survivors and their supporters.
Today's event featured not only the boats, but food, music, dragon dancing and other events.
State grants $1.3 million to revamp Springfield's North Riverfront Park
Featured on MassLive by Jim Kinney May 01, 2014
Springfield's North Riverfront Park is getting a $1.3 million makeover designed to link the city with its waterfront and link residents, from the North End and elsewhere, with healthy recreational activities along the long-neglected Connecticut River bank.
Connecting Point
Featured on WGBY 57 on 5/13/2013
PVRC's Executive Director Jim Sotiropoulos, and President Jonathan Moss talk about their vision for the riverfront. To see PVRC please forward to 18:00.